I was working at SELF Magazine in 2016, when Snapchat Inc. first presented Condé Nast with the opportunity to put its brands onto the platform. SELF was given the option to test a “pop-up” edition, wherein a single edition would live on the Snapchat Discover page for 48 hours. Depending on how well that performed, Snapchat would determine whether SELF would continue producing content for its Discover platform. I worked as the sole creative on the project: managing all creative assets, gathering photo and video research, tracking copy status, editing audio and video clips, and working to illustrate, design and animate snaps within the edition. I presented weekly progress to SELF’s Editor in Chief and Executive Digital Director, and worked with SELF’s Creative Director and Art Director to ensure that I was creating within brand guidelines.
“Within 48 hours, SELF Magazine’s inaugural pop-up edition garnered 5.11 million unique viewers and the channel gained 132k subscribers, ranking it in the top quarter of all editions (including the existing daily Discover channels).”
Because of its success, Snapchat and SELF decided to move forward with the partnership. I continued to be the primary creator for SELF’s Snapchat Discover channel, even as it grew from once every other week, to twice a week, to three times a week.
“Within a year, SELF’s Snapchat Discover channel reached a huge benchmark for success on the platform: one million subscribers.”
In 2017, on the heels of the success in launching the SELF Magazine Snapchat Discover channel, Condé Nast was eager to on-board another brand to the platform: Teen Vogue. Given the high overlap in audience between Teen Vogue and Snapchat Discover, the channel was sure to be a hit. However, the project to create the initial “pop-up” edition never really got off of the ground, and had been put on hold for months.
“Seeing an opportunity, in September of 2017 I began working to create the Teen Vogue Snapchat Discover channel. It officially launched the next month, paralleling the success of SELF Magazine.”
As with SELF, I was the only creative responsible for the project: managing all creative assets, gathering photos and videos, managing freelance help, editing audio and video clips, and designing and animating each edition.
The SELF and Teen Vogue Snapchat Discover channels continue to exist today.
